BUSINESS IN BRIEF 4/5

23:48' 04/05/2008 (GMT+7)
Zamil spends $20mil to double its Vietnam steel production
Zamil Industries set to spend US$20 million to increase capacity in Vietnam to 100,000 tons a year from 50,000 tons in a bid to tap Asian demand for the construction material.
Zamil Steel, an affiliate of the Saudi Arabian maker of steel, air conditioners, glass and insulation, came to Vietnam in 1993, operating as a representative office.
Zamil Steel Vietnam, a joint venture between Zamil Steel Industries of Saudi Arabia and Japanese Mitsui, was established in Hanoi in 1997 to design, manufacture and supply top quality pre-engineered steel buildings like warehouses, workshops, distribution centers, showrooms, aircraft hangars, schools, and sports halls.
Its first plant in the city’s outlying Noi Bai Industrial Park has designed, fabricated and supplied buildings to Vietnam, China, Japan, and the South East Asia Region with 4,000-ton monthly outputs.
The manufacturer has recently put its second plant into operation in southern Dong Nai Province’s Amata Industrial Park, 35 km from Ho Chi Minh City.
It also aims to open sales offices in more provinces in Vietnam and enter new markets, including Australia and the US.
US executives to visit Vietnam
Some 50 executives from 23 leading US companies seeking business opportunities in Vietnam will begin a three-day visit to the country Monday, reported the US – ASEAN Business Council Saturday.
The business leaders will hold talks with leaders of the Vietnamese government and the Party.
The delegation – including executives from General Electric, Boeing, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, The Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, Fedex, Ford, IBM, and Qualcomm – is led by Matthew Daley, chairman of the US –
ASEAN Business Council, and Stuart Dean, chairman of General Electric Southeast Asia and chairman of the US – Vietnam Trade Council.
Garments and textiles exports hit 2.6 billion USD
The garments and textiles export turnover for April increased by 50 million USD against the previous month, reaching an estimated 700 million USD, marking a rise of 8 percent on month.
During the first four months this year, the garments and textiles sector earned 2.6 billion USD, an on year increase of 24.5 percent. At present, all the deals for the second quarter of 2008 have been covered and prices have increased 10-15 percent on year.
However, footwear export turnover in April is only equal to that of March, reaching an estimated 330 million USD. In the first four months, the footwear sector only earned 1.35 billion USD. In spite of showing a 15.7 percent increase on year, this figure has only reached 30 percent of the yearly target.
No expansion of coffee areas until 2010
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a directive asking provinces not to expand coffee growing areas from now to 2010, aiming to ensure the yield and quality of the product.
The ministry has asked its department in charge of the work to promptly complete a project on raising the competitiveness of Vietnamese coffee, taking measures to improve coffee quality and supporting farmers to cultivate new high-quality coffee varieties.
The directive also required Central Highlands provinces to urgently complete the rubber development programming, creating favourable conditions for businesses to lease land and cooperate with farmer households in shifting less-effective areas of perennial industrial plants into rubber areas.

In addition, the ministry has instructed localities to minimise the expansion of cassava acreage, especially in areas earmarked for other crops.

From now till 2010, construction of any cassava processing factory far from materials supply areas will not be permitted. Localities should create favourable conditions for modern processing facilities to purchase cassava for production.

The ministry said that unplanned development of crops and slash-and-burn practice for rubber and coffee planting are increasing in many localities, which not only affect the yield, quality and the market balance of the products, but also cause negative ecological effects.

Rice prices return to the normal

The prices of rice in Ho Chi Minh City have resumed to a stable level on April 30 and May 1 after the city's People's Committee asked supermarkets to provide sufficient supply to consumers.

Prices of different kinds of rice have reduced from VND 2,000 to 6,000. Most consumers chose supermarkets as they provided stable prices and unlimited quantity including 150 tonnes on April 30 and 100 tonnes on May 1.

In addition, rice trading corps and supermarkets sent mobile rice selling trucks to industrial zones, export processing zones and remote areas.

As a result, people in the city are buying rice with normal prices.

MoF okays set-up of airline insurance company

The Ministry of Finance has approved the establishment of the Vietnam Airlines Insurance (VNI) Company with initial charter capital of VND 500 billion (US $31.2 million).

VNI has some major founding shareholders, including Vietnam Airlines, the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group and Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation among others.

The company will provide insurance services for air transport as well as marine and land transit, accident insurance and other non-life insurance services.

HCM City’s export value surges 34.6%

Ho Chi Minh City ’s export value soared 34.6% to US $7.48 billion in the first four months of the year.

The rise was mainly fueled by increases in earnings from garment and textile, which raked in US $1.08 billion, up 15%; footwear; US $457 million, up 9.1%; and wooden furniture, US $151 million, up 42.3%.

Crude oil remained the spearhead export line of the city as it brought home US $3.48 billion.

Seafood was the only product experiencing a decline in exports. It grossed over US $173 million in the period, a drop of 7.8% compared with the same time last year.

Seafood producers explained that they have been affected by petroleum price hike, which cost them 15-20% more than the previous period.

In the first four months, the country earned US $18.26 billion, a surge of 24.6% over the same period last year.

Vietnam’s seafood appreciated in EU market

Products of Ho Chi Minh City-based Vinh Hoan Seafood Co. was selected one of the best new products at the 2008 European Seafood Exhibition in Belgium .

According to Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), 44 local seafood companies attended the exhibition, including those who joined the event for the first time.

According to the Vietnam Commerce Office in Belgium , last year, Vietnam earned US $950 million from seafood export to the EU, a year-on-year increase of 27%. The figure is estimated to reach US $1.2 billion this year.

Vietnam’s seafood, especially those made from shrimps and catfish, are favoured by foreign clients, said To Thi Tuong Lan, VASEP’s Vice Secretary General.

Real estate website gets some ink

The US-owned real estate website www.metvuong.com is coming out free of charge in paper format for its customers and partners.

Along with listing properties for rent or sale, the publication covers articles about the market and real estate related services.

The monthly publication gives buyers, sellers, renters, and landlords another option to find or release information on land and houses, according to chairman Paul Song.

CB Rechard Ellis, Savills and Indochina Land are among the company’s partners.

Work starts on biogas plants

Construction on two biogas energy plants for Biogas Tay Ninh, a wholly foreign-owned company, began on Monday in the province.

Completion is expected in 10 months for the plants, worth a total of US$3million, which are being built under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) form.

The plants will use waste water discharge from tapioca processing facilities in Tay Ninh Province.

With an average capacity of 3,000 cubic metres of waste water a day, the plants will be able to produce up to 12,000 cubic metres of biogas.

"The plants will help us save energy and reduce up to 90 percent of pollutants from our waste water," said Khun Umnad, general director of the company Tapico Tay Ninh.

Tay Ninh produces one million tonnes of cassava annually, producing about 300,000 tonnes of tapioca.

Pharma plant opens in Phu Yen

Pymepharco Joint Stock Co has opened a plant to manufacture intravenous drugs in the central province of Phu Yen.

The VND184 billion (US$11.5 million) plant, utilising technology from India, Germany and Spain, will adhere to the strict manufacturing standards of the World Health Organisation. Pymepharco works with Stada Vietnam to produce the oral antibiotic Cefdinir.

Binh Dinh be dammed, with new projects

Construction of three hydropower plants in Vinh Thanh District in the south-central province of Binh Dinh began on Sunday.

Vinh Son Hydro-Electricity Plants 3,4 and 5, all situated upstream on the Kon River, are being built by the Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydroelectricity Joint Stock Company and Vinh Son Investment Joint Stock Company.

The projects were initiated under a Government plan to develop the national electricity grid between 2006 and 2015.

The Vinh Son project 3 is expected to cost VND660 billion (US$41.5 million) and is funded by the Vinh Son-Song Hinh Hydroelectricity Joint Stock Company. When completed in 2010, it will have a capacity of 32MW.

The 18MW Vinh Son Hydroelectricity Plant 4 will cost VND400 billion (US$25 million) and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Vinh Son 5 will cost VND600 billion (US$38 million) and the 28MW plant will be ready by 2010.

Binh Duong’s got the juice

Binh Duong authorities have licensed Kirin Acecook Vietnam Ltd Co to build a fruit-juice bottling plant worth US$60 million in the My Phuoc 2 Industrial Zone in Ben Cat District.

The factory, expected to open in May 2009, will have a production capacity of four million bottles of juice a year.

The venture brings together the Kirin Beverage Group of Japan, the Acecook Group of Japan, and the Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Co.

New PetroVietnam affiliate bows

PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Co, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Oil & Gas Group (PetroVietnam), made its debut at a ceremony in Ha Noi last Thursday.

With charter capital of US$ 32.8 million and nearly 3,000 employees, PVC designs and supplies steel structures, pipelines and petroleum storages for onshore and offshore oil and gas projects.

Thais come to Can Tho garden party

Refrigeration Engineering Joint Stock Co (REE), the Sai Gon Agricultural Joint Stock Co and Siam Orchids Thailand Co will create a tropical flower garden in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta City of Can Tho.

The garden, covering 200ha, will be built at a cost of VND150 billion (US$9.37 million), with completion expected in 2011. It will be a centre for the collection, hybridisation and production of flowers adapted to the Delta eco-system.

Sai Gon Cable Co to list

The Sai Gon Cable Co will list more than 29 million shares at the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre on May 6.

The company, which specialises in the trade and production of electrical and telecom cables, is capitalised at VND300 billion (US$18.7 million), 31.1 per cent of which the State holds.



Vinacontrol revenue hits $1.57m

The Vietnam Superintendence and Inspection Co (Vinacontrol) has announced a net revenue of VND25.2 billion (US$1.57 million) in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year rise of 43.7 per cent.

The company plans to earn a total revenue of VND100 billion this year and pay its shareholders a dividend of 12 per cent.

Vinacontrol specialises in surveying and judging product quality.

SJE earns $278,000 in Q1

The electrical company Song Da 11 has announced a post-tax profit of VND4.45 billion (US$278,000) in the first three months of the year, an increase of 26.3 per cent year-on-year. Shares in the company, coded SJE, closed at VND22,900 on Tuesday..

POT’s Q1 profit plunges 94.5%

The Post and Telecommunication Equipment Co has revealed a post-tax profit of VND258 million (US$16,100) from the first quarter of the year, a plummet of 94.5 per cent against the same period in 2007.

The company, capitalised at VND194.4 billion, pledges to continue with its planned projects this year in hope of achieving a pre-tax profit of VND45 billion on revenue of VND780 billion.

BVS to issue 30m shares

Bao Viet Securities Co, code share BVS, will issue an additional 30 million shares worth VND300 billion (US$18.7 million) on May 6 at the Ha Noi Securities Trading Centre.

The company said it intends to offer the shares to its existing shareholders at a price of VND32,000 a piece.

Ha Tien 1 buyback

The Ha Tien 1 Cement Co has said it will commission the Bao Viet Securities Co to buy back 300,000 shares from May 5 to July 5. The capital used to initiate the buyback will be mobilised from the company’s investment and development fund.

Hoa Phat earns $144 million

The Hoa Phat Co announced a total revenue of VND2.3 trillion (US$144 million) from the first quarter of this year, 30 per cent of its target for the entire year.

The company expects to earn a post-tax profit of more than VND451 billion, 60 per cent of its target figure. Hoa Phat is mainly involved in the trade and production of structural steel.

HCM City speeds up ODA disbursement

Ho Chi Minh City is speeding up the implementation of 23 projects funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) official.

Most of the projects, which received over 30 trillion VND in ODA commitments, are large-scale transport works.

Since early this year, the city has disbursed over 896 billion VND (56 million USD) of ODA for the projects, or 27.5 percent of the yearly plan.

To accelerate the disbursement of ODA capital, the city is focusing on removing difficulties in site clearance and rising construction material prices.

HCM City targets growth in mechanical engineering

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has approved a plan to develop the mechanical engineering industry by 2020.

Under the plan, products with high added value and environmentally efficient will be favoured.

Key products will include autos, waterway transport vehicles, machinery and tools, and electric equipment.

All small mechanical establishments will be moved out of the city’s urban areas and modern ones will be moved to local industrial parks.